HomeEntertainmentJanis Ian charms the...

Janis Ian charms the Island

HOLMES BEACH – Grammy Award-winning singer, composer and author Janis Ian shared her wit and musical talent with three groups of listeners estimated to number more than 200. It was the most-watched appearance in the history of the Friends of the Island Branch Library’s Travel and Lecture Series.

Janis Ian charms the Island
Terry Krafchik waited more than three hours to get the first tickets. – Tom Vaught | Sun

Ian’s two top-40 songs, “At Seventeen” and “Society’s Child,” were part of the fabric of the politically-conscious side of the folk-rock music scene. She was right at home sitting in front of the audience at Waterline Marina Resort and Beach Club’s banquet room. When they sensed a large crowd would want to see her free appearance, the Friends of the Island Library got help from the nearby resort. Ian appeared live in the banquet room and her performance was streamed to large-screen televisions at Cobb’s Corner, a covered structure by the resort’s pool, and back to the Walker-Swift meeting room at the library.

Janis Ian charms the Island
The line for tickets to the Janis Ian lecture was long. – Tom Vaught | Sun

To get in, people had to come to Waterline earlier in the day to get tickets and the long line was reminiscent of the rock and roll concerts of earlier years. In fact, Terry Krafchik got there at 8 a.m., three and a half hours before the tickets were handed out.

“I remember doing this for a Bruce Springsteen concert,” she said.

 

Ian remembers

Janis Ian charms the Island
The people watching Janis Ian outdoors at Cobbs Corner had to keep warm. – Tom Vaught | Sun

Ian broke into the popular music scene at the age of 16 with the ballad “Society’s Child,” a song about interracial dating. She followed up in the 1970s with “At Seventeen,” a Grammy Award-winning song about how young girls were made to think their looks were their most important virtue.

She started the concert with “Society’s Child” and later said that while singing on stage in the south, members of the audience started chanting “N… lover” to the point where she left the stage, crying.

“My manager came up to me asked me what I was doing,” she said.

Her manager convinced her if she didn’t return to the stage, the racist hecklers would have won.

“I returned and started singing again and when they started heckling me, my manager had them kicked out,” she said.

She shared a funny song she wrote after somebody told her she should write an autobiography when she was 16. She also told the crowd she dropped out of school at 16 because she was already making a living and she got her GED later to please her mother.

Ian spoke about The Pearl Foundation, an organization that helps women turn their lives around through education. It’s one of her favorites. She sold merchandise after the lecture and donated proceeds to the Pearl Foundation and the Friends, who raised approximately $1,100 according to the library. After her lecture, she spent time signing merchandise and posing for photos and selfies.

During her talk she said she loves libraries and her appearance Thursday spread a lot of love to the Island Branch Library, and the Island.

Most Popular

More from Author

Worshippers brave cold Easter sunrise service

HOLMES BEACH – More than a thousand people braved chilly temperatures...

AMICCO postpones Symphony on the Sand 

The Board of Directors of the Anna Maria Island Concert Chorus...

Online fun at the libraries

Manatee County Libraries presents its Creative Writing Workshop Series on Mondays,...

Floridian Mortgage wins championship

ANNA MARIA – Spring has sprung and winter sports at The Center are coming to a close, with team Floridian Mortgage earning the win against team Moss Builders Thursday night in the adult co-ed flag football championship game. The top two teams in the league matched up in...

Man completes Chamber passport program in five hours

ANNA MARIA ISLAND - The annual Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce’s Passport Program is a fun way for residents and visitors to the Island to get out and discover Island businesses with a passport offered for free by the chamber. Participants are encouraged to get their passports...

One ARK Foundation raises funds for foster families

live music, delicious food and spirited fundraising as the One ARK Foundation held its second annual “Kindness Matters Extravaganza” at The Cheesecake Cutie & Cafe on March 21. “One ARK” stands for “one act of random kindness” and is a newly-established 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded by The Cheesecake...

Save our homes

This column should be titled “Save our Taxes,” since that’s what we’re really talking about. However, saving on property taxes is part of the Save Our Homes benefits and portability transfers are another piece of this law. In January of 2008, the Florida Legislature passed legislation that allows...

 Reel Time: Salon fundraiser meets with success

Salon (noun) - a conversational gathering of notables held at the home of a prominent person. On Saturday afternoon, Suncoast Waterkeeper held its Suncoast Salon fundraiser at the Sarasota home of Anna Maria residents Bill and Debbie Partridge. The event was a sellout and attracted some of...

Temporary paid parking vendors hired

BRADENTON BEACH – City commissioners considered four temporary use parking permits at the March 21 commission meeting and after much discussion, approved three with stipulations, denying one. Permit applications were submitted by developer Shawn Kaleta for temporary parking lots at 102 Third St. N., 207 Church Ave. and...

Fire department sued over rental regulations

BRADENTON – Almost a year after passing a resolution changing the district’s approach to taxing and inspecting vacation rental properties in residential areas, West Manatee Fire Rescue is receiving pushback from one rental owner. During a March 19 commission meeting, the district’s attorney, Maggie Mooney, informed the board...

Bridge Street traffic, parking among commission concerns

BRADENTON BEACH – In what was an unusually lengthy, seven-hour city commission meeting that began at noon on March 21, commissioners dove into parking and traffic issues, pickleball and organ donation. BRIDGE STREET ONE WAY? A Bridge Street business owner asked the commission to consider making Bridge Street one...

Scaccianoce new Bradenton Beach commissioner

BRADENTON BEACH – Ward 1 has a new commissioner. The application for commissioner by business owner and former Manatee County records manager Deborah Scaccianoce was approved by the commission and she was sworn in at its March 21 meeting. She filled the vacant seat left by former Commissioner Jake...

Kruse talks beach parking, Island consolidation

HOLMES BEACH – About two dozen people came out on March 20 to meet with Manatee County Commissioner George Kruse, bringing their questions for the candidate, who is seeking re-election in November. Kruse held a town hall meeting at the Island Branch Library where he answered every question...

Commissioners deny bids for paid parking

BRADENTON BEACH – Rather than partnering with an outside vendor as planned, commissioners are now considering city-managed paid parking lots throughout Bradenton Beach. The city had put out a Request for Proposals (RFP) on Feb. 9 to “Provide the City with a complete parking management and enforcement system...